Three Trails Worth the Drive — June 17, 2026

Three picks this week, spread across Washington, Maine, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. One has a hard calendar constraint — the road to the trailhead closes on Monday and won't reopen until Friday, so the window is literally the weekend. One just cleared a bird-nesting closure that shut down Acadia's most dramatic alternatives, making it the only iron-rung hike in the park right now. One got a quiet piece of good news ten days ago: a planned 166-acre prescribed burn that would have closed the trail was postponed to 2027, and most people haven't heard yet.

Olympic National Park's Hurricane Ridge road has been on a construction schedule since May 11: the final 1.5 miles from the Hurricane Ridge parking area to the Hurricane Hill trailhead close every Monday through Thursday for a water system replacement project. 1 The closure runs through July 2 and is open Friday through Sunday only. 2 That constraint is now a feature: weekend-only access keeps the crowds from stacking up the way they would in mid-July, and right now the trail is in the best shape it will be all year.

Why go this week: A WTA trip report filed June 14 describes the trail as snow-free, wildflowers blooming, bugs not bad, and road passable for all vehicles. 3 Hiker Sasha Kochiya wrote: "Simply amazing. Get on your sunglasses and sunscreen as there is little shade throughout the trail. Once you are on the summit, you will see the most enormous view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca." 3 A separate Reddit visitor who hiked June 12–14 described the summit as "incredible views and marmots hanging around, snow covered peaks — just great." 4 The next open window is Friday June 19 through Sunday June 21.

Trail: The route is paved the entire way — a rarity at this elevation — which makes it accessible to a wider range of hikers while still delivering a genuine summit at 5,757 feet. 5 The 650-foot gain is distributed across the full 1.6-mile climb, making it a sustained uphill rather than anything technical. Victoria Overlook is accessible along the way; Obstruction Point Road is closed separately and does not affect this route. 1 No potable water is available at Hurricane Ridge during construction — carry everything you need from Port Angeles.

Parking: The Hurricane Ridge parking lot fills by late afternoon. A visitor arriving at 4:15 p.m. on June 14 reported waiting about 15 minutes for a spot. 3 Arrive by 9:00 a.m. to avoid the wait. The nearest town is Port Angeles, WA, about 17 miles and 35 minutes down the mountain.

Getting there: About 2.5 hours from Seattle via the Bainbridge Island ferry and US-101, or 3.5 hours from Portland. 5

Fees and permits: $30 per vehicle (7-day pass), $15 per person on foot or bicycle. 6 No timed-entry permit, no advance reservation. America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) is accepted.

Four of Acadia's (Acadia National Park, on Mount Desert Island off the Maine coast) most spectacular technical hikes have been closed since March 1 for peregrine falcon (a large North American raptor that nests on exposed cliff faces) nesting season: Precipice Trail, Jordan Cliffs Trail, Penobscot East Trail, and Valley Cove Trail. 7 All four remain closed until further notice. Beehive Trail, which climbs the same type of exposed granite terrain using iron rungs and steep staircases, is not on that list — and as of June 14 it was open and hikeable. 8

Why go this week: Reddit user u/patfishin hiked Beehive on June 14 and called it "amazing." 8 For anyone who planned a ladder-trail hike at Acadia this summer and found the Precipice trailhead barricaded, Beehive is the direct alternative. It covers the same fundamental experience — exposed granite, iron rungs, cliff-edge views over the Maine coast — at a slightly lower intensity. Trail guide Earth Trekkers describes it as "a tamer, easier version of the Precipice Trail. It features sections of cliff walks and metal rungs, but with less elevation gain and less exposure." 9

Trail: The 1.4-mile loop is rated Strenuous primarily because of the iron rungs and near-vertical granite steps on the ascent. 9 Counter-clockwise is the standard direction: go up via the rung-assisted cliff face, descend through forest via The Bowl. The trailhead is at the Sand Beach parking lot — cross Park Loop Road to reach it. Pets are not allowed on any ladder trails per NPS rules. Skip this one in rain; wet granite and iron rungs are genuinely dangerous. 9

Conditions note: Mosquitoes are active on Mount Desert Island in mid-June, and ticks are present on forest sections. 8 Wear repellent and do a tick check after. Morning fog typically clears by afternoon; temperatures run 55–75°F on the island in June.

Road detour: The Park Loop Road section from Kebo Street to Sieur de Monts is closed to all vehicles through late June. 7 Detour runs via Mount Desert Street/Main Street/Route 3. Sand Beach (the Beehive trailhead) is accessible from the other direction on the Loop Road without hitting this closure.

Parking and logistics: The Sand Beach lot fills by approximately 10:00 a.m. on summer weekends. No timed-entry reservation is required for Beehive or Sand Beach — only Cadillac Summit Road requires a separate $6 vehicle reservation (May 20–October 25). 10 Bar Harbor is the nearest town, about 10 minutes away. From Boston, allow 4.5 hours; from Portland, ME, about 1.5 hours.

Fees: $20–$35 per vehicle (7-day pass, price varies by season). Acadia Annual Pass $70. The park went cashless in April 2025 — card or digital payment only. 11

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (a federally protected stretch of Lake Superior shoreline on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, managed by NPS) had a burn on the books. The National Park Service had planned to ignite a 166-acre prescribed fire in the Miners Beach area before June 30, which would have closed the North Country Trail segment between Miners Beach and Miners Castle for one to two days. 12 On June 9, NPS updated the plan: burn postponed to spring 2027 due to "careful evaluation of conditions and personnel limitations." 12 All trails in the park are fully open for the summer.

The Chapel Loop is Pictured Rocks' best full-day hike: 10.5 miles of cliffs, waterfalls, and a Lake Superior beach in a single circuit. 13 AllTrails rates it 4.8 out of 5 from approximately 1,453 reviews; Komoot gives it 4.9 from 183 hikers. 14

Why go this week: The prescribed burn news hasn't circulated widely, so visitor counts at the trailhead haven't yet climbed to peak-July levels. Chapel Road, the 5-mile unpaved access road to the trailhead, fills its limited parking lot quickly on summer weekends — arriving before 8:00 a.m. is the standard advice. 13 Going this week, before the July Fourth surge, gives you a better shot at a parking spot and a less crowded cliff-edge trail.

Trail: The loop departs from the Chapel/Mosquito trailhead, hits Chapel Falls (a 60-foot cascade) 1.2 miles in, then continues to Chapel Rock — a sandstone formation above the lake that NPS explicitly warns visitors not to climb, with fines for violations — and Chapel Beach, where Lake Superior is directly accessible. 13 From there the route follows the Pictured Rocks cliffs past Grand Portal Point and Lover's Leap, descends to Mosquito River and Beach, and returns via the outer trail past Mosquito Falls. 13 Clockwise is the traditional direction.

Bugs: This is a bad mosquito year on the Upper Peninsula. Reddit user 906Dude (posting June 15) reported: "This is turning out to be a bad mosquito year. I treat my clothes with permethrin and spray myself generously with Picaridin or DEET." 16 NPS also warns that black flies are active through June, and stable flies along the lakeshore can be aggressive on hot, humid days with a south wind — repellent has no effect on stable flies. 17 Long pants and a head net are worth the extra weight.

Pets: Prohibited on all Chapel and Mosquito area trails and beaches. 13

Parking and access: Chapel Road is a 5-mile unpaved road with deep potholes and washboards — a standard SUV or passenger car handles it, but take it slow. 13 Trailhead parking fills fast in summer; aim for before 8:00 a.m. No cell service in the park interior — download offline maps before you leave Munising. The nearest town is Munising, MI, about 15 miles from the trailhead via Alger County Road H-58.

Getting there: Chicago is approximately 400 miles (6–7 hours); Detroit is approximately 400 miles (6 hours); Milwaukee is approximately 300 miles (5.5 hours). 14 Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport (MQT) is roughly 45 minutes from Munising for those flying in.

Fees: $15–$25 per vehicle (7-day pass). Annual PIRO pass $45. America the Beautiful pass accepted. The park is cashless — credit or debit cards only. 19

One nearby note: Miners Falls Trail — a separate 1.2-mile out-and-back to a 50-foot waterfall — closes June 23–25 for a soil-boring project, but this has no effect on Chapel Loop or the Miners Castle area. 20